In a principal aspect, the present invention relates to containers, cup holders and trays for snack foods which may be utilized by placement in a cup holder in a vehicle or in the arm of a theatre seat, for example.
When attending a movie theatre, entertainment venue or when driving a vehicle, snack food items are often purchased by the patron or driver or otherwise made available. Placement of these snack foods in a sack or box, or other similar container may be distracting and may also be inefficient or cumbersome. As a consequence, various product designs to accommodate such issues have been proposed. For example, combined food and beverage containers and trays have been proposed as illustrated or disclosed in the following listing of patents:
Pat. No.InventorIssue DateTitle1,665,289WeaverApr. 10, 1928Means for Serving Foodand Drink3,285,495ColatoNov. 15, 1966Reusable Food Packagewith IntegralAdjustable Closure3,288,344WoollenNov. 29, 1966Double Containeret al.Dispensing PackageDes. 285,999LudwickOct. 07, 1986Combined Food andBeverage Container4,779,998WischusenOct. 25, 1988Composite Bag-LikePackage5,180,079JengJan. 19, 1993Combined Cup5,573,131BerjisNov. 12, 1996Apparatus for Forminga Container to Hold aDrinking Cup at theBottom End of theContainer and to HoldFood in the Upper Por-tion of the ContainerDes. 397,911WaldmannSep. 08, 1998Combined Beverage andSnack Holder6,182,890 B1SattlerFeb. 06, 2001Collapsible Containeret al.for Holding Food-stuffs, and Methodsof Using Same
Such constructions typically call for the inclusion of a lower drink portion in the form of a cup and an upper snack food portion positioned over the lower portion. A straw typically provides access to the liquid lower portion. The upper portion typically includes an open top for manual access. Certain prior art patents suggest that a lower cup portion be shaped to fit into a cup holder.
Various other patents are directed to this general subject matter including the following:
Pat. No.InventorIssue DateTitlePublicationFrankOct. 10, 2002Bottomless BagNo. 2002/et al.0145295  421,264GibbonsFeb. 11, 1890Party Plate1,881,416UhaltOct. 04, 1932Meal Serving Mat2,036,687C. FisherApr. 07, 1936Moistureproof Bag2,301,216KoontzNov. 10, 1942Bottle Holder3,148,636BloomquistSep. 15, 1964Serving Trayet al.3,401,858WhiteSep. 17, 1968Service Trayet al.3,422,986TilsethJan. 21, 1969Dish Lip PlateAttachment4,219,144HagelbergAug. 26, 1980Serving Tray4,461,396HarperJul. 24, 1984Combined Plates andGlass Holders4,534,469ElsmoAug. 13, 1985Tray Assembly4,607,758StevensAug. 26, 1986Serving Tray4,744,597BaumanMay 17, 1988Food and Beverage Trayet al.4,836,970RobbinsJun. 06, 1989Method of ExtrusionBlow-Molding ContainerHaving Upper and LowerSections of DifferentThickness4,989,742PowellFeb. 05, 1991Tray Apparatus5,100,607RobbinsMar. 31, 1992Blow-Molding Methodsto Form ContainersHaving Upper and LowerSections of DifferentThickness5,111,960ZillioxMay 12, 1992Interlocking Plateand Cup Set5,184,750MollerFeb. 09, 1993Party Dish5,323,910van deJun. 28, 1994Party PlateGraaf, Jr.5,390,798YanuzziFeb. 21, 1995Food and BeverageSupport Tray withBeverage Vessel Cutout5,425,455MillerJun. 20, 1995Folding Lap Trayet al.5,497,885SussmanMar. 12, 1996Lap Tray for CarryingFood5,542,577FriedrichAug. 06, 1996Plate AssemblyGripping Member5,780,824MatosJul. 14, 1998Expandable and Self-Venting Novelty Con-tainer for CookingMicrowave Popcorn6,021,914SchmidtFeb. 08, 2000Hors D'oeuvre Tray6,149,027RathjenNov. 21, 2000Combination Food Plateand Beverage-Container-Holder Article6,382,449 B1KazmierskiMay 07, 2002Two Stage Cupet al.6,586,715 B2WatkinsJul. 01, 2003Microwavable Containerfor Food Products andMethod of FabricatingSame
Nonetheless, the availability of serving trays and cup holders for holding snack foods and/or retention thereof in a cup holder has been somewhat limited. The present invention is directed to various unique designs.